In a statement, Mr Reckless said he had been “thoroughly impressed by the performance and discipline of Andrew RT Davies and the Welsh Conservative group”.

He said Theresa May’s leadership as Prime Minister had been “exemplary” and that she had been “steadfast in her position to deliver on the wishes of the people of Wales and the United Kingdom” in relation to Brexit.

Assembly Presiding Officer Elin Jones said the former UKIP AM could be a member of the Conservative group.

Andrew RT Davies said Mr Reckless had “proven himself to be a hard-working and dedicated AM who has been an effective representative for the South East Wales region”.

“He will now be able to continue this work as part of a strong and united team which will be the official opposition in the assembly,” he added.

Mr Reckless told BBC Wales he knew there was still “bad blood” from the time he quit the Tories to join UKIP.

“It’s not for me to waltz back into the party with any sense of entitlement,” he said.

“I want to focus my efforts here with some humility.”

“He didn’t have the courtesy or the courage to speak to me about any doubts he had about his future in UKIP or what he might get from the Conservative Party,” he told BBC Wales.

“Fundamentally he was elected to the assembly not as Mark Reckless but as a UKIP candidate for the South East Wales region.

“He’s betrayed the trust of all of those who selected him in the first place to be a candidate and all of those who worked to get him elected to the assembly.

“He’s got no mandate to sit in the assembly as a member of the Conservative group.”

UKIP chairman Paul Oakden said it was “incumbent on Mark Reckless to relinquish a position he has only by virtue of a UKIP mandate”.

“The position should go to the next UKIP candidate on the regional list,” he said.

Are #UKippers Fighting Like Ferretts In A Sack – Over A Corpse & one rich man’s ego? Clearly despite its EU income Ukip is dependent on Aaron Banks’ cash!

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Hi,

a measure of just how attrociously badly led Ukip has been for many years is not just the obviouse realisation that even with Nigel Farage having quit as leader he is still controlling his party – but you will note the utter chaos of its NEC & their lack of competence – their fantasy pilot & his dating site con act of their Chairman Paul Oakden and not only is Nigel Farage’s closest aide under the custody of the FBI but it was Nigel Farage’s records that were seized when he and George Cottrell were together in America about to leave – after Cottrell’s bungled drug deal & efforts to blackmail and intimidate whilst they were there!

Then consider the party is broke with an overspend of £850,000 despite the massive value of bribes/(salaries & expenses) from the EU which runs to £Millions a year + the £Millions Farage receives as leader of the EFDD, and there have been no murmurs of his intention to resign frtom this comfy and well funded post.

Then consider that as a party that made much of being anti membership of the EU they spent a paultry £55,000 on supporting the Referendum and had done all they could to prevent the Petition organised by Nikki Sinclaire which had forced the debate to Leave-The-EU on David Cameron & incurred his first major rebellion that led him to include a promise of a finite IN/OUT Referendum in The Tory Manifesto at the last General Election!

Just where has all the money gone? It runs to many £Millions so Draw your own conclusions! In drawing your own conclusion you will note the paucity of donations from Ukip MEPs and staff reflected on the Electoral Commission’s roll of donors!

Accounts reveal Ukip ended last year £850,000 in deficit

The UK Independence Party ended last year more than £850,000 in deficit, according to its latest accounts that show how the party’s finances dwindled after the 2015 election and in the run-up to the referendum campaign.

The party spent £6.7m in the year, more than its £5.8m overall income, as the cost of the general election and a 4.5pc fall in membership numbers took its toll.

Ukip held onto one parliamentary seat in May 2015, as Douglas Carswell kept the constituency of Clacton. Mark Reckless lost his seat to the Conservatives, the party he left to join Ukip.

Donations overall fell 18pc to £4.4m last year and the party booked no revenue from its online shop, which generated £119,000 from selling Ukip merchandise in 2014, after it was hived off into a separate commercial entity.

Nigel FarageCREDIT: STEVE FINN

As a result of its deficit during the year, the party’s funds were £540,000 in the red, compared to a cash pile of £285,000 at the end of 2014.

The six leadership candidates do not include Mr Carswell, who along with other parliamentary candidates spent £3.2m on election expenses during last year.

The party also spent £65,000 on membership fees for Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, its political bloc within the European Parliament. During the year it also spent a mere £55,751 on referendum expenses, as Brexit-supporting campaigns such as Vote Leave and Leave.EU took a greater role in the debate.